Out and About in Carole Dorran

Shaftesbury in North is one of the highest towns in , standing as it does at 750 feet above sea level. As with many high points in the area, the first settlement was established around 8000 years ago in the middle of the Stone Age. The town went on to become hugely important during Medieval times and has long been an important cross roads for trade, sitting as it does in the heart of the Blackmore Vale. Named Shaston by the author Thomas Hardy in his Wessex novels, this town has much to offer.

The Historian – Autumn 2013 41 Gold Hill, Shaftesbury. St Peter’s Church and the Town Hall, Shaftesbury.

Its first record as a town is written in the Burghal Hidage, the walls of the , it was originally a pilgrim church and when , Saxon King, founded a burgh-or is noted for its vaulted porch and crypt. The church occupies fortified settlement-in 880 AD as a defence against Viking a prime position where the cobbled Gold Hill meets the High invaders. But Shaftesbury really came to prominence when Street; any visitor to Shaftesbury should spare a little time to see King Alfred established an abbey in the town, placing his this beautiful Saxon church. daughter Ethelgiva as the first Abbess. It became the wealthiest The abbey prospered for nearly 700 years until the Benedictine nunnery in England, owning land and property Dissolution of the Monasteries; in 1539 under the orders of from Purbeck in the south to Bradford-on-Avon in the North. King Henry VIII, the last Abbess of Shaftesbury, Elizabeth Athelstan founded three royal mints, producing pennies that Zouche, signed a deed of surrender. The abbey was extremely bore the town’s name. In 981, the relics of King Edward, who wealthy at that time; the lands were sold and the abbey was was murdered at Corfe Castle, were transferred from Wareham demolished, leading to a temporary decline in the town. Much and were received at Shaftesbury Abbey with great ceremony, of the abbey materials, notably the unusual green sandstone, turning the town into an important place of pilgrimage for were salvaged and used to build local houses. There are still miracles of healing at his shrine. In 1001, he was canonised thatched cottages existing today around the town whose walls and became St . In 1035 King Canute, who were built from the abbey stones. In 1540, Sir Thomas Arundel was a regular visitor to Shaftesbury Abbey, died while in the of nearby Wardour Castle purchased the abbey along with town, though he isn’t buried there. In the Domesday Book the much of the town. However, he was later executed for treason town was known as Scaepterbyrg with its ownership equally and his lands were forfeited. The abbey and town passed to the shared between king and abbey. In 1240, Cardinal Otto, legate Earl of Pembroke, then to Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of to the Apostolic See of Pope Gregory IX, made a visit to the Shaftesbury, before passing to the Grosvenors. It wasn’t until abbey and confirmed a charter of 1191, the first entered in the 1919 that a syndicate of three local men bought the town of Glastonbury chartulary. Shaftesbury for £80,000, after which they held an auction to sell During the Middle Ages, the abbey was the central focus over 300 lots to local householders and shopkeepers. of the town. A charter to hold a market was granted in 1260; Since then the ruins of the abbey have been excavated in 1392 Richard II granted an increase to two markets. The and lie within a peaceful walled garden, along with a museum mayor had become a recognised figure by 1340, sworn in by recounting the history of the site. The modern day visitor can the steward of the abbess. Sometime between 1400 and 1539 walk amongst the ruins and view where St Edward the Martyr’s Edwardstow, which is Shaftesbury’s oldest surviving building, relics once lay, as well as see the medieval-inspired orchard and was built. The centre part of the house predates the Dissolution extensive historic herb collection. A statue of King Alfred the of Shaftesbury Abbey in 1539. Also around this time a medieval Great looks over the abbey grounds. farm owned by the Abbess of Shaftesbury was established, During the Civil War, Shaftesbury was largely although sadly these days it is now the site of a Tesco Parliamentarian but was in Royalist hands. In August 1645, supermarket car park. In 1501, Catherine of Aragon stayed at Parliamentary forces surrounded the town and Colonel Charles the abbey on her way to marry Prince Arthur, older brother of Fleetwood surrounded and dispersed 1000 Clubmen, many of the future Henry VIII. whom were arrested and sent to trial in . St Peter’s church is the most ancient of all the town’s The historic Georgian town hall, which is next door to St churches. Built in the latter part of the fifteenth century outside Peter’s Church, was built in 1827 by Earl Grosvenor after the

42 The Historian – Autumn 2013 The pumpyard, St James, Shaftesbury

Guildhall had been demolished to widen the High Street. The clock tower was added in 1879. The building has since been designated a grade II listing by English Heritage. Inside the town hall is a beautiful mural depicting the history of the town which local artist Phyllis Wolff was commissioned to paint in 1979. During the eighteenth century, Shaftesbury became an important stagecoach centre due to five main roads meeting in the town, although extra horses were required to pull the heavy coaches up the very steep Tout Hill. There were at that time some 30 Holy Trinity Church inns in the town, including 3 major coaching inns. However the coming of the railways in the mid 1800’s did much to damage Shaftesbury’s coaching trade; the town became a backwater for a time after the railways completely bypassed the town. In the eighteenth and early nineteenth century the main industries in and around Shaftesbury were agriculture, button making and weaving, although mechanisation later caused unemployment and emigration. The town museum is situated behind the town hall at the top of Gold Hill and has many displays of Dorset Buttons which were made locally, as well as many more interesting local artefacts, including the town’s very first fire engine dating from 1744, making it the oldest in Dorset. The The fire engine, dating from 1744, is Dorset’s oldest. museum building itself was once a doss house, providing accommodation for the drovers, jugglers and traders who came to the town’s markets and fairs. No visit to Shaftesbury would be complete without seeing Gold Hill. This ancient steep and cobbled street runs beside the walls of the abbey and used to be the main street in Shaftesbury. With far reaching views across the Blackmore Vale, Gold Hill is picturesque; however, it’s probably best known for having been the location for a 1973 Hovis bread television advert featuring a boy on a bike. The voiceover was distinctly Northern-accented, leaving many people convinced that the advert was filmed in Yorkshire. The street also featured in the 1967 film version of Thomas Hardy’s Far From the Madding Crowd starring Julie Christie and Terence Stamp. The has an ancient pump in its midst. Due stunning countryside in England, there view is instantly recognisable to many to the town’s steep position, water had to is much to offer in the area, though these people from seeing it on television but be pumped up the hill from wells to be days it is the car that transports people it really needs to be viewed in reality to sold in the market square. It wasn’t until into the town and brings trade. appreciate just how glorious it is. 1852 that a well was sunk 125 feet deep At the bottom of Gold Hill lies an at Barton Hill so that water could be area of the town known as St James, piped around the town. It was once said Carole Dorran has had a lifelong which is the oldest part of Shaftesbury. that it was cheaper to buy ale than water interest in history, in particular The terraced stone cottages each side of in Shaftesbury. British history. She is also an amateur St James Street were once tenements but Now today Shaftesbury is an genealogist with 15 plus years today are attractive and highly sought important tourist centre, attracting experience; is a keen photographer after properties. Just off St James Street people from all over the world. and loves to photograph things of is the picturesque Pump Yard which still Surrounded by some of the most historical and architectural interest.

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